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Philosophical Essay

Philosophy Statement

Hawley Hennen

EDUC 201

Foundation of Education

Dr. L. Egbert
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“Stand for something or fall for anything” is a phrase attributed to Malcolm X who is also

quoted as saying, “Without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world.” For nearly as

long as anyone has thought about the idea of education, there have been different philosophies

about how best to teach. Whether you believe that information is the most important aspect or

rather that the experience is the key objective (or one of the countless points in-between the two)

odds are you have developed your own teaching philosophy and opinions regarding the primary

goal of education. If you are anything like me, you probably have developed a philosophy that is

a rich blending of the four main schools of thought (Progressivism, Perennialism, Essentialism,

and Existentialism). Today more than ever we recognize that just like no two students are exactly

the same, it is very clear that no one educational philosophy is a perfect fit for everyone.

Just as important as the question of “how should we teach?” is the idea of “what should

we teach?” Perennialism believes that only the everlasting ideas are important; whereas

Essentialism is all about the “core basics” of skills/ information. Progressivism believes that the

facts must be questioned and verified as part of the process, and Existentialism believes that the

information is less important than the individual. All of these ideas are like partial ingredients in

a recipe (individually they have value, but when combined they make something even greater).

This is perhaps why I cannot say that I am best described by any one philosophy because my

personal philosophy is a combination of elements from all four.

Questions such as “what is a teacher’s role?” and “what is a student’s role?” are difficult

to answer because those roles are not clearly defined by any one philosophy, at least in real life.

If we do not learn the basics, we cannot question the process. If we do not build on the ideas of

the past, we cannot hope to recognize the significance of those ideas in ourselves. When we ask

“how do people learn best” or “how they should be taught” it is as difficult a question to answer
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as if we asked which is better day or night, summer or winter, vanilla or chocolate? Odds are

there is no one right answer for everyone, and as educators we must be able to question, evaluate,

and adapt ourselves to each unique situation we encounter. Now more than ever, we as a society

must recognize the importance of personal identity and the truth that there is no single path

through life. Perhaps the best way to express my own philosophy would be to compare teachers

and students to the dynamic between ocean waves and the shore; through their shared interaction

both are shaped and affected by their experience and changed by their time together.
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References
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Footnotes
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